CK Chapter Two

getting interesting...

I hate to admit it, but after my conversation with the road repair crew, my apprehensions grew.  For awhile, I thought back to my childhood in Edmonton. 

Remember when you're a kid, and you see your first scary film, or your parents (or sister) tell you there are creatures living under your bed, or you are scared to be in the dark... well that's what this was kinda' like.



that's Crown King far off in the hazy distance...



In the time I have been to Phoenix and meeting local riders, this Crown King Road (!?) had come up in many conversations.  What I'd heard was how incredibly rough the surface was, or that there were climbs nearly vertical with boulders the size of Baja VW Bugs. 

It was a ride for hard core KTM pilots or whack jobs on ATV's.  There has not been a single soul that claimed CK was a 'piece of cake', a proverbial 'walk in the park'.  Even the guy I'd bought the XT from had a garage full of hard core off road bikes.

road begins to climb and narrow

My road side chat, did nothing to allay those fears.  The local expert maintenance guy on the road crew, who lived in CK, warned me with not even a hint of a smile on his face, that it would be very tough indeed, and there were no services of any type.  Even he suggested I take an alternate highway route to visit the townsite itself.



surface still very good, hard packed gravel



I decided that I could always bail and continue around the Cow Creek road, back to the Castle Hot Springs route that I had done several times, after all... I was just out for a Sunday ride albeit on Monday...

MONDAY! 

When there would be no whack jobs on ATV's or hard core Katoom riders whizzing by to offer assistance if trouble occurred. 

That's alright though,  whenever I am tackling a hazardous off road section, I reserve the right to turn back at any time.  Usually the deciding factor is a wicked downhill, into a bottomless morass, filled with rock, sand, mud and alligators with huge snapping jaws, and bits of human flesh dangling from a smashed femur, protruding from a smiling jaw seemingly saying to me... "send more foolish dirt riders..."



rugged desert terrain, nobody about today



So, after the abandoned homestead, near yet another dried up stream, I peeled off to the right and began the Crown King road proper.  There was no road sign as such proclaiming 'Crown King' 39 miles that away or any such thing.  No brass bands, no red cross outpost, no Apache warriors on pintos overlooking the badlands below (at least not that I'd noticed) only a painted rock that I almost missed with a large CK on it's face.

drop dead gorgeous scenery 360 degrees

The altimeter had been steadily climbing after I'd rolled out of West Golden Lane, and we were now climbing in earnest.  3500 feet, then 3900 in short order.  Once I hit 4000' I knew it was going to be a hard ride.  The route had narrowed considerably, the switchbacks were coming more frequently and the drop offs were getting deeper and steeper.

abandoned homestead, looked pretty nice, just no water

I came around another bend to find a near 6' snake, lazing on the roadway a hundred feet in front of me.  Must have picked up the vibration, by the time I parked the bike on reasonably level ground and walked back the 20 or so feet to where I had passed by him, he was already in hill climb mode and heading into the brush. 

There was no rattle, but that in itself is not that unusual, and his coloring was indicative of rattlesnakes I had come across in British Columbia, Baja or around these parts previously, but I had no idea if he was friendly or not.  Before ducking into the underbrush for good, he coiled the first 18" of himself and eyeballed me a good 10 seconds.  His mid section was a good 2 1/2 " in diameter, and I wished I could have taken a better pic before he disappeared. 

getting narrower and steeper, mostly 2nd gear stuff

I am always respectful of such creatures, this is their environment not mine.  Whether it was harmful to humans or not, I see absolutely no point in harassing a wild creature.  Too often we humans, have such little regard for things and animals we simply don't understand.  I viewed this guy as I do all living creatures, with tolerance, respect and curiosity.  I did not have any right to harm it in the least though in any case.

switching back and fro

Parked, snake watching, I realized how warm it was becoming.  The daily temp was only meant to be 79F, a whole lot cooler than the two weeks preceding, but here in the sun, on a blazing hillside, the heat was reflecting off the rocks.  I felt like a piece of Navajo pottery drying in the oven. 

Time to shed some clothes.

So far this opening portion of the CK road was only mildly challenging.  Apart from a steady uphill and narrow trail, there were no killer washes or VW boulders to contend with.  I began thinking that the road crew were having some fun at my expense.

hard to see but about 6' and over 2 inches in diameter

The route was most definitely uphill and hugged the mountainside like a long lost relative that heard you just won the lottery!  I'd call it a 6 out of 10 for difficulty.  It did much better for scenery, clearly a 10!

In the distance, at certain vantage points along the route, I could see Lake Pleasant shimmering far far away. 




fast moving rattleless diamondback

 

The bar graph on my watch, representing the altitude over the last several miles was climbing like we'd wish to see our investments do.  Steadily upwards.  The distances around bends and between the uphills and occasional dips was becoming increasingly shorter.  This was getting serious.

heading skywards!

The Crown King was beginning to shed it's smile and show it's teeth...